An inquest into the death of teenager Nóra Quoirin has gotten underway in Malaysia, with authorities set to examine 'five main questions' about her death.

The Irish-French went missing while holidaying with her parents at the Dusun Rainforset resort south of Kuala Lumpur last year.

The 15-year-old's body was found 2km from where she was staying following a 10-day search.

Her parents, who have fought hard to get the inquest, are expected to be among dozens of people to give evidence over the coming weeks.

Authorities in Malaysia had initially refused to hold the inquest, pointing to an autopsy which found she died of intestinal bleeding caused by hunger or stress.

'It's not to prosecute anyone'

Ushar Daniele, independent producer and journalist based in Kuala Lumpur, spoke to Newstalk Breakfast about what is expected over the coming weeks.

She explained: "As the coroner said, it's not to prosecute anyone or to find faults in anyone - but five main questions need to be answered from this inquest.

"The first is who is the deceased? The second is how did the victim die? Third, when did the victim die? Fourth, what is the cause of death? And fifth, was the death caused by external forces or callousness?

"From reports, Nóra's parents say they believe there was criminal evidence to her death. Malaysian police have insisted there is no sign of foul play - this has led the judicial system to actually open up a coroner's inquest."

Ms Daniele said this is the first time there is a live-stream of such an inquest, while Nóra's parents aren't in Malaysia for the hearings due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

She noted that local journalists don't know exactly what they can expect from the inquest, which is set to be heard over two weeks.

She explained: "64 witnesses will be called to testify to assist with the investigation... that number might increase or reduce depending on the proceedings.

"Right now, we are not being given a list of the witnesses that are being called - we will have to monitor the daily cases.

"The first witness called to the stand to give his statement is actually the state police chief. [He] is basically giving a background of what happened on the day of the incident itself and how it progressed."